Course Update for October 31, 2014

It has been a long season for the golf course with the completion of the greens rebuild and practice facility. The year started off with severe ice damage to the entire golf course, especially the old poa greens. With the hard work of the construction company and the entire maintenance staff we were able to build and grow-in 20 new USGA bentgrass greens. It is now that time of year where the turf team begins the winter preparation of the golf course. With the cold, wet weather we’ve had over the last week and the long range forecast at our below seasonal averages, the final day of golf will be Sunday, November 16.

Closing on November 17 will allow the turf team the necessary time to finish the required fertilizer and chemical applications on greens, tees, and fairways, while blowing out the irrigation system. The turf department will begin draining the irrigation system tomorrow in preparation for the compressor arrival on Friday, November 7. The irrigation system will be winterized form the 7th to 10th of November, so please be aware around sprinkler heads on the golf course while this is being completed. After this is finished we will begin spraying fungicide on tees and fairways around the 12th of November to protect the turf from winter snow mold, and after the course closes on Monday the 18th we will complete the greens. During the same two weeks will be applying a dormant fertilizer throughout the golf course to promote early turf growth in the spring of 2015. And, finally, around the first week of December—weather dependent—we will begin installing perforated tarps on all the new greens. These tarps allow moisture through the surface, unlike solid tarps, and are put in place to protect the new greens from wind desiccation, not ice like in years past.

Again, I want to thank everyone for their patience throughout 2014, and I look forward to a great 2015.